Former Salwa Judum leader shot dead by Naxals

A former Salwa Judum leader was today shot dead allegedly by naxals in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said.
Bodhiram Machhi (55) was killed when he was going for work at an under construction stop dam in Bendre police station limits of the district, Bijapur Deputy Superintendent of Police Sukhnandan Rathore told PTI.
Prominent in his native area for strongly opposing the Maoists, Machhi was working as a construction worker. He was shot dead by around 10 armed naxals, the DSP said.
Soon after the incident, police team was sent to the spot to retrieve the body, he said.
Security forces have launched combing operation in the region to nab the attackers, he added.

Salwa Judum, an anti-Maoist civil militia, was disarmed and disbanded in the state following the Supreme Court order declaring as illegal and unconstitutional the deployment of tribal youths as Special Police Officers (SPOs) in the fight against the Maoist insurgency.